The present invention relates to a barrier construction for removably closing road passages.
As is known, superhighways, autostradas, and, in general, roads provided with two roadways are protected along the central line thereof by traffic separating barriers, which can be made of cement concrete, or metal materials, or of free-ground portions, which, at preset distances, are interrupted by paved areas provided for allowing vehicles to change the running roadway, under the provided conditions.
This areas or regions are generally known as road passages, and have an average length of 30 meters.
The frequency with which these road passages are provided through the road barrier will depend on the environmental conditions, on the maintenance requirements, on the provision of outlets or other factors and, usually, is provided a road passage each 2 km of road.
Accordingly, this road passages represent an interruption of the side protection for the vehicle provided by the mentioned barriers.
Such an interruption is very dangerous, since accidents caused by traversing a road passage by vehicles are, even if reduced in number, very deleterious.
In fact, in such a case, the vehicle, frequently lacking of control by the driver, will impact against one or more vehicle coming in the opposite direction.
As such an accident occurs, the sum of the kinetic energies of the impacting vehicles is so high that it will cause the persons in the vehicles to die.
Because of this reasons, it has been considered the possibility of eliminating the road passages and closing them by fixed constructions of a barrier type.
Such a solution, however, has not been found fully satisfactory, because of maintenance reasons, emergency vehicle circulation reasons and snow removing reasons, as well as because of the need of changing roadway as serious accidents occur which obstruct a roadway for several hours.
These reasons, which must be traded-off with the safety of the road users, require the adoption of an efficient closing system but which, in the meanwhile, can be easily and quickly removed as this is necessary.